Anoperatingsystemis a program that manages the computerhardware. It
also provides a basis for application programsand acts as an intermediary
between the computeruser and the computerhardware. Anamazing aspect
of operating systems is how varied they are in accomplishing these tasks.
Mainframe operatingsystems are designed primarilyto optimize utilization
of hardware. Personal computer (PC) operating systems support complex
games,business applications, and everything in between. Operatingsystems
for handheldcomputers are designed to provide an environment in which a
user can easily interface with the computerto execute programs. Thus, some
operatingsystems are designed to be convenient, others to be efficient,and others
some combination of the two.
Before wecan explore the details of computersystemoperation, weneed
to know something about systemstructure. Webegin bydiscussing the basic
functions of system startup, I/O, and storage. Wealso describe the basic
computerarchitecture that makes it possible to writea functional operating
system.
Because an operating system is large and complex, it mustbe created
piece bypiece. Eachof these pieces should be a well-delineated portionof the
system, with carefully definedinputs, outputs, and functions. In this chapterwe
provide a generaloverviewof the majorcomponents of an operatingsystem.
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